4,000 Years of Christmas

'Tis the season for mistletoe and decorating the tree. But the origins of Christmas may surprise you. Did you know one of the American colonies outlawed observance of this holiday in 1659 ?

by Gary Petty

It's called the spirit of Christmas—the ringing of sleigh bells on a snowy night, Tiny Tim turning the heart of Scrooge in Charles Dickens' famous novel A Christmas Carol, Santa Claus and flying reindeer.

For many, it seems, the birth of Jesus takes a backseat to mythology, packed shopping malls and greed. Every year, signs in front of neighborhood churches remind people to put Christ back into Christmas—or proclaim "Jesus is the reason for the season."

But is He?

In his book 4,000 Years of Christmas: A Gift From the Ages (1997), Episcopal priest Earl Count enthusiastically relates historical connections between the exchanging of gifts on the 12 days of Christmas and customs originating in ancient, pagan Babylon. He shows that mistletoe was adopted from Druid mystery rituals and that Dec. 25 has more to do with the ancient Roman Saturnalia celebration than with Jesus.

Early Church celebration?

Nowhere in the New Testament do we see Jesus' disciples observing His birthday.

In fact, as late as the third century the early Catholic theologian Origen declared that it was a sin to celebrate Christmas, viewing it as pagan.

First-century Corinth was a Greek city filled with polytheistic religions. Its customs included temple prostitution and priests who performed sacrifices to the pantheon of Greek and Roman gods.

The apostle Paul writes to the Church members there in 1 Corinthians 10:19-21: "What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons."

Read the full article at www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn49/christmas.htm

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